artist profile

Adel Abdessemed

born

lives and works

education

about the artist

As part of his artistic practice, Adel Abdessemed stages “acts” and makes objects charged with ideological, sociological, metaphysical, and, ultimately, humanist concerns. A refugee of global history and world politics (he was born in Constantine, Algiers, and moved to Lyon, France, in 1994 due to political unrest), the artist has traversed cities around the world. From these places, he draws understandings of urban pasts and national memories to create arresting and, at times, uncomfortable statements on the world we inhabit. Abdessemed has held several solo exhibitions all over the world that have garnered tremendous attention, among these: Adel Abdessemed: Situation and Practiceat List Visual Arts Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, USA; and Adel Abdessemed: Dead or Aliveat PS1 Contemporary Art Center, New York, USA. He was honored with a residency in the International Studio Program at New York’s MoMA PS1 Contemporary Art Center and has participated in the Istanbul, Lyon, and São Paulo biennials, as well as three editions of the Venice Biennale.